Bure into HOF

While Panthers fans sorely miss seeing the defending Southeast Division champions during the protracted lockout they could take some solace in watching one of their all-time favorites, Pavel ‘Russian Rocket’ Bure get officially inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame tonight on NHL Network at 7:30 p.m.

Bure got to play only 12 seasons due to chronic knee problems, but he finished with 779 points, including 437 goals, in 702 games. He’s the Panthers third all-time goal scorer with 152. He’s a two-time 60-goal scorer and his seasons with 59 and 58 in 2000 and 2001 for the Panthers are single-season highs.

He joins other Panthers in the Hall such as goalie Ed Belfour, forward Dino Ciccarelli, center Igor Larionov and center Joe Nieuwendyk, but unlike Bure, the other four accomplished the majority of their feats with other teams.

"It's a huge honor to be in the Hall of Fame," Bure told NHL.com. "I wouldn't be there without Pat Quinn. He was my first coach, my first general manager and president. He was like a father for me."

"My thoughts about him going into the Hall are he absolutely deserves to be in the Hall of Fame," Canucks GM Mike Gillis, who represented Bure as his agent, told NHL.com. "I thought he was probably the most exciting, best goal scorer in the years he played in the NHL. He's a terrific guy, was a great client and he was a pleasure to work with. We had a lot of fun together."